


Mommy comes back

by Yuulina_vre



Series: Little Supersoldiers [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Car Accidents, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Hospitals, Kid Bucky, Kid Bucky Barnes, Kid Steve, Kid Steve Rogers, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 16:27:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16178831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuulina_vre/pseuds/Yuulina_vre
Summary: After Y/N got into an accident, Steve has to deal with a scared child and his own fear.





	Mommy comes back

Y/N just thought she could run to the corner store before the team gets back from its latest mission, so she could buy some ingredients and make pizza for everyone for dinner. But heavens plans for her seemed to be different on this specific day. First of all, she woke up this morning, stumbled out of bed and hit her hip against a drawer of her closet. Then her toothbrush fell down and was covered in lint and last but not least she stumbled on the stairs, because she forgot to tie her shoes. She just made her way to cross the street and the last thing she registered was the loud and shrill screech of a car, then she was out and everything was dark.

 

* * *

 

“Home. Finally!” Bucky throws his backpack on the Sofa in the common room and falls, face forward, on the remaining place. Steve just slumps on one of the chairs and the rest of the team settles on everything what is in reach. “Man, this shit took longer than expected.” Tony sighs and closes his eyes. Nat settles down beside him on the floor and leans back until she lies on her back. “I could sleep for weeks. I swear.”

“You’re one to speak! I and Sam were up all night, just to secure everything.”

“Sam and I.” Nat looks up at Clint with a smirk. “What?” Clint looks confused down from his spot on the sofa Bucky was laying on.

“It’s Sam and me. You should name yourself at last. That’s how politeness works.”

“Fuck this shit; I’m too tired for that. And Hungry.”

“Yeah, now that you mention that, where’s Y/N? Didn’t she say she would do something special for us?” Sam looks around as if she would pop up behind a corner with a party hat and confetti. Everyone looks around expectant, but the surprise fails to materialize. “FRIDAY? Can you tell us where Y/N is?” Steve looks up at the ceiling and waits for the AI to respond. “I was told to inform you that Miss Y/N is currently in a hospital for surgery. She comes out of it approximately in one hour and twenty-four minutes.”

“Wh- Wait. Surgery?! Why?” Bucky suddenly sits up and worry crosses his face as he stares at Steve. He starts fidgeting and stands up to walk up and down. The rest of the Avengers share worried glances and sit up a bit straighter. “It seems Miss Y/N crossed a street and a car couldn’t stop to prevent collision. I recommend Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes to take a ride to the hospital, to fill out necessary papers about her medical history.” Steve starts nodding and stands up as well as his gaze falls on Bucky who has stopped to pace around. “Buck?”

“I- I can’t, Stevie. I can’t.”

“Buck. You need to calm down. It’s okay. She’ll be fine. You need to breathe.” Steve comes up to his best friend and reaches out to him, but Bucky flinches at the touch and starts hyperventilating. “N-no I- I need to-“

“Okay. It’s okay. You need to drop?” Bucky nods and Steve nods to sign him that he understands. “Okay. Then do it. You can stay and I’ll go there to-“

“No. I’m... coming with you. I just need to- to drop.” Steve sighs, but he knows better than to argue with him when he’s so overwhelmed with stress. He nods again and the rest of the team backs down a few meters to give Bucky the space he needs to drop. Usually he and Steve do that at night, when everybody is asleep, but on some occasions it’s not possible to wait that long, so they have to drop in front of everybody. They all watch as Bucky whimpers and falls into Steve’s waiting arms. As slowly as he can he guides him down to the ground. Bucky starts to shrink in his arms and drops smaller and smaller until he is the size of a four-year old, who’s dressed in clothes too big for him. The moment he stops dropping a sad cry sounds through the whole room and lets everybody shiver. Steve presses the small boy tighter to his chest and rubs his back. Even if Bucky doesn’t know what just happened a few seconds ago, he seems to sense that something is terribly wrong. “Mommy!” Bucky cries out loud and clutches to Steve’s chest, face buried into his right shoulder and arms slung around his neck. He lets Steve lift him up and rocking him slowly. “It’s okay. She’s fine. Hey, shh. Sweetie, come on now. Everything’s okay. What do you think; while I’ll do some paperwork, you can draw a picture for her, hm?” Bucky shakes his head and cries even louder. “Where’s mommy?” Steve looks lost at his friends and rocks the crying kid up and down. “Oh, sweetie.” Nat comes up beside Steve. She lays a hand on his shoulder and communicates with him through her eyes, then she takes Bucky over into her arms, which isn’t that easy, because Bucky’s grip on Steve’s neck is incredibly tight. “Hey, shh. Mommy’s… doing some work. She’ll come back in a few days. You really don’t want to draw some pictures for her?” She looks gently at the brown-haired boy, his hair hangs into his face. Bucky slowly shakes his head and tries to get his cries into silent sobs and sniffles. “That’s our little hero.” Nat smiles at him and kisses his temple. Steve does the same at Bucky’s other side. Then he seems to hesitate a moment before he speaks. “I’ll go and fill out all the papers. I’ll come back in a few hours, Bucky”, he pats Bucky’s head as the boy throws a frightened look at him. “I promise it won’t be long. Can you watch over him for a while?” His gaze wanders from the small figure in Nat’s arms over to the rest of the Avengers. “You go, we manage.” Tony claps his hands together and looks expectant at Bucky. “So, I need two little hands to help me and get some lunch ready. Does someone have small hands here?” Bucky looks up with a shy gaze, still sobbing. “Want to help, champ?” Bucky sniffles again and hides his face in Nat’s hair, but he manages a small nod. Sam, Bruce and Wanda have long since retreated to wherever their heads lead them, but Tony, Clint and Nat make their way into the kitchen corner. Steve follows, a bit behind them, until Nat turns around. “Steve, dear god, go. Y/N needs you there; we manage here for a while.”

“Okay. Just- Call me if something’s not right.”

“Yeah, yeah. Off you go.” Nat sets Bucky down and shushes the blonde out of the room with a hand gesture.

 

* * *

 

Steve walks into the room and stares immediately onto the bed Y/N is lying in. She looks pale and small, but Steve knows to not underestimate her. She is strong and that will help her to get on her feet in no time. He has just spent forty minutes with the papers the hospital needed and with talking to the doctor about Y/N’s current condition. It seems that everything went well and that her injuries are not that serious. She has a bad concussion, two broken and one sprained rib, a fractured arm and a broken leg, which broke just above the knee. She is really lucky that nothing else is damaged. She easily could have got inner injuries which are way more difficult to deal with. The doctor told him that she will wake up soon and that he can wait for her. So, he does exactly that. He grabs one of the chairs in her room and shoves it to her right side, so he can hold her hand without hurting her. Now, he has to wait. After a few minutes he takes out his phone and sends a message to Nat and tells her, that Y/N is fine and that she should be awake for a little while soon.

It takes Y/N almost two more hours to twitch and another thirty minutes to actually stir awake. “Hey Y/N. You’re with me?”

“Steve?”

“Yeah. It’s me.” Y/N peels her eyes open and searches the room until her eyes fall on Steve. “What happened?” She croaks out. Her throat is dry and sick with sleep. And it hurts. Everywhere.

“You had a car accident. Do you remember anything?” Y/N shakes her head and coughs. She winces at the sting that follows. Steve immediately grabs a glass of water from her nightstand and helps her to sip some from the glass he holds to her lips. He puts the glass away again and grabs Y/N’s hand in his. “Why- Why aren’t you small?”

“Small? Oh! you mean a kid. ‘S because Bucky needs me as an adult, as long as you’re injured.”

“No, Stevie,” Y/N closes her eyes and sighs. “You need to drop. It’s good for you.”

“I can’t. At least not as long as you’re in hospital.”

“But-“

“No buts. I won’t argue with you about that. I’ll be fine for a few days. If you insist, I’ll drop as soon as you get home but not a minute prior.” Y/N just squeezes his hand. Steve can tell that she is tired, so he stays silent and watches her as she goes back to sleep. He stays another four hours, just to make sure that she wouldn’t die suddenly, but then he can’t hold his own eyes open for much longer. He writes Nat a second time, asking her to pick him up. He is about to pocket his phone again as it starts to vibrate. He looks at the screen and frowns. Nat never calls him. “Nat? Is everything all right?”

_“Yes and no. Bucky seems to have calmed down, but he’s refusing to eat and doesn’t want to take his nap. I’m at a loss. We tried everything, but he just starts to have a tantrum and throws things.”_

“Have you tried his bear?”

_“We did. We even let him watch some TV, but he just won’t go to sleep”_

“Okay. If you pick me up, I’ll try something. I’m too tired to drive on my own.” They hang up. Steve buries his face in his hands. He can feel the exhaustion creep through his body, mixed with all the stress he has. His body begs him to drop, but he refuses. Bucky needs him as an adult. He doesn’t trust Tony or the others to look over them both and even if everybody works together, he rather is with Y/N than with his team. They are good at spoiling him and Bucky, but to actually care for them is another story. He knows they are a handful sometimes, but he isn’t sure that the team knows that as well. Besides, the mission wasn’t as bad as it could be so there is no need to drop. The stress comes all alone from the fact that Y/N got injured while he was away.

 

* * *

 

The dilemma starts that night. Bucky refuses to eat any dinner and it gets worse as Steve gets him to his bed, because he refuses to even lie down with Steve, needless to say that he won’t lie down alone.

After one hour full of ‘go to sleep’ - ‘No’ - ‘Yes you do’ - ‘ I don’t want to’ and several pleas from Steve’s side, he gives up entirely and decides to let Bucky stay up until he falls asleep. The thought is good but it seems that the reality is very different. Every now and then, when Steve nearly falls asleep after bedtime story after story, Bucky wakes him up again. Now it’s nearly three in the morning and Bucky seems nowhere near to be tired enough to sleep. The boy has just too much energy for Steve’s liking. He pulls on Steve’s sleeve. “Steeve? Can we build a fort? I’m… scared. The room is so big.”

Steve sighs. Yeah, he can understand what Bucky means. Usually he is asleep right next to Bucky and when Steve is an adult and he isn’t here, Y/N will always let him sleep in her bed with her. And if Steve is there, they both read him to sleep, sandwiched in his own bed between Steve and Y/N.

So, it’s clear that the room seems too big for the small boy, but Steve is tired, and he is way too tired to build a blanket fort. Bucky’s lower lip starts wobbling, so Steve gives up his thoughts and gives the child a smile. “Sure, buddy. I grab some blankets and you get some pillows and some picture books I can read to you. Okay?”

“Yes.” Bucky’s eyes sparkle with joy and as Steve reads the books he chose; another hour later, in a fort build so big they both easily fit in together, lit up with some lights; he thinks that staying up with him is worth the stress.

 

* * *

 

The next day isn’t better. Bucky hasn’t slept at all and still won’t eat anything. “Okay, James Buchanan Barnes! I’ll swear, if you don’t eat this toast, I’m gonna shove it into you and we both know that that is not a funny task for both of us. You go eat it now?” Nat has her hand stemmed into her hips and stares angry at the little boy. He is still stubborn, shakes his head and shoves his plate away from him. With an angry cry she throws her hands into the air. “Fine! I’ll give up!” She walks away and doesn’t look back at Bucky. Clint, who has watched, smirks and walks up to Bucky. He shoves the plate back in front of the boy and grabs his hands as he tries to push it back again. “You know. If you don’t eat that, I’ll have no other choice than to call your mom. Ohh, she will be so disappointed when she hears that you won’t behave while she’s absent. She will ask ‘what happened to my good boy’ and I have no other chance than to tell her that he-”

“No! Please. I’ll eat. Please don’t tell mommy.” Bucky interrupts and practically begs. Clint smirks in the direction he knows Nat sits. “Okay. Join us on the sofa when you’re ready.” It takes Bucky just six minutes to finish his toast and to join the two Avenges on the common room couches. He sits down next to Nat and cuddles up to her. Nat switches her eyes from the display of her tablet to the child on her side. “What’s wrong?” Bucky shakes his head at first but then pauses. He thinks for a second and then looks up at her. “Mad?” His voice is a whisper and at first Nat thinks she imagined it but then she sees his fearful eyes. “Mad? You mean if I’m mad because you wouldn’t eat?” Bucky nods slowly and Nat gives him a small smile. She presses him further into her side. “No, I’m not.” Bucky nods again, as if he understands. “Where’s Steve?”

“He’s busy. Doing some stuff for Y/N- for your Mom.” Clint peeks over to him from behind Nat. Bucky pulls his eyes from Clint and looks down at his hands. His brows furrow and Nat guesses that he’s thinking really hard. His hair falls into his eyes and he pulls them away with both hands. “Is- is mommy mad at me?” Nat and Clint freeze, they share a confused look before Nat asks. “Why should she be mad at you?”

“Be-because she left without me.” Bucky starts sniffling, his eyes fill with tears which quickly spill over. “Was I a bad boy? Did I do something wrong? Does- does mommy not love me anymore?”

“No, Bucky. Don’t think that.” Nat swears her heart brakes at that moment. Even without being an assassin, hell, even being blind you can see that Bucky blames himself for the absence of Y/N. He thinks she is on some kind of business trip but that she doesn’t told him or even brought him with her is upsetting for the little child. Shorthanded, she pulls him into her lap and cuddles him tight to her chest. She is a bit surprised as two strong arms wrap around her and Bucky as well. Her eyes meet Clint’s and he gives her a nod. “Mommy just needs some stuff to finish. Sometimes it’s easier to do it when you’re alone, that’s why she’s not here at the moment. She loves you so much, Bucky. And that’s why she’s coming back real soon.”

“B-but she never c-called.” The boy is full on sobbing by now. “It’s still early, maybe- maybe she’s just asleep?” Seeking for help she looks at Clint, but he is as helpless as she is and shrugs his shoulders. Bucky keeps crying for a while and Clint and Nat try their best to calm the boy down.

 

* * *

 

At noon Sam and Wanda switch with Clint and Nat while they go to join Steve in the hospital to visit Y/N. Sam drags the boy back into the fort he made with Steve while Wanda joins with some books, hot chocolate and some snacks. She reads for hours to both of them until Sam fall asleep and starts snoring. She manages to convince Bucky that it’s not good to draw on Sam’s face and offers him more snacks instead. Bucky eats nothing.

 

* * *

 

Tony has ordered pizza for everybody but Bucky still refuses to eat, even when his stomach grumbles and begs for food. Tony walks down to Bruce’s lab, together with the boy, who now starts to get angry because of tiredness. They manage to distract him for another two hours, long enough for Steve to get back to the compound.

 

* * *

 

Again, he lays with him under the blankets in the fort. Bucky is turning and tossing and even if he seriously tries to fall asleep, he’s on the point where his exhaustion makes it almost impossible for him to actually fall asleep. He starts crying out of frustration and Steve’s rocking and soothing circles that he rubs into his back don’t help at all. Helpless he takes a look to his watch. It is past ten. Visiting time in the hospital is long over and Bucky’s bed time still overdue. “Okay that’s enough.” Bucky twitches and his eyes widen as Steve crawls out of their makeshift bed. “Steve?” He gets no answer and starts whimpering. “Don’t leave. I’m sorry.” Silent tears fall down his cheeks and Steve pokes his head back inside immediately. He reaches with his arms for the kid and he crawls right into them. Steve lifts him up into his arms and rocks him. He plants a kiss on his cheeks and forehead. Then he wrestles a sobbing and shivering child into a jacket and his thick socks. Without a word he slips into his own shoes and leaves their floor. He steps into the elevator and tells FRIDAY to get him to the first floor. A few seconds later the doors open and he steps into the dim light of the entrance. He walks past the doors, straight outside, to a waiting car. Careful, he straps Bucky into a child seat and plants himself into the driver’s seat. In a hopeful thought to get Bucky to calm down he switches the CD player on and plays one of Bucky’s favorite stories which, under normal circumstances, calms him down or gets him to sleep. Not this time, though. The whole drive he cries his eyes out until his voice sounds raw. Steve makes quick work in finding a place to park, gets Bucky out of his seat and to walks to the entrance. They are in front of the hospital as Steve puts Bucky down and crouches down next to him. “Hey, can you look at me?” Buck rubs his burning eyes, which makes him cry even more because they hurt, but reluctantly does what Steve asked for. “You see this?” Steve points at a sign in front of the entrance and waits for Buck to nod. “We’re at a hospital. Mommy had an accident and is here for a while. But we’re going to visit her now, so I need you to calm down for a bit so we won’t wake anybody up. Can you do that for me?” Bucky nods again and grabs Steve’s hand. Steve squeezes it and gives him a kiss before he stands up and starts to enter the building. He hopes that Y/N is still awake, so they don’t have to wake her up. As they reach the door to her room he knocks and bites his lip. After a few seconds a muffled “yes” gets to his ears. He pushes the door open and shoves Bucky in, until he enters himself. As soon as Steve is in the room Bucky pushes behind his legs and hides. His gaze flies through the room until his eyes land on Y/N. “Mommy!” He cries out and sprints up to her. With many tries he manages to climb up onto her bed and wraps his arm around her neck. Steve watches as Y/N grins and makes a face of pain as the little boy throws his full weight on her. “Easy there, don’t forget mommy is in pain.” Steve smiles and walks up to the two. Bucky has started to cry again but this time Steve hopes it’s because of happiness. “Steve, what are you doing here?” Steve sighs and flops down in the chair he had sat in a few hours ago. “Bucky won’t sleep. No matter what, he refuses to eat as well and I couldn’t think of anything else as to come and get him to you.”

“I see.”

“I’m sorry if we disturb you.”

“No, I’m fine. I was reading and if I’m honest it’s really boring in here.” She grins at him. Then she looks down at her boy. “Hey, Bucky. I missed you.” She plants a kiss on top of his head and stokes through his hair with her uninjured hand. “Mommy..”

“Yes, hi. What do I hear? You have trouble sleeping? Why’s that?”

“Won’t sleep without you.” Bucky is silent and Steve can barely hear him. “What? But, Bucky. At sometime you need to sleep without mommy. You can’t stay up for forever.” Bucky starts whimpering again but Y/N shushes him quick. “Okay. How about you crawl under my blanket and we go to sleep together?”

“Noo.. Want to be with you.”

“Hey, I won’t go away. I’m staying here all the time.”

“And- and Steve?” Bucky takes a sheepish look at Steve before he turns to face Y/N. “He’s staying, of course. We’ll make a pajama party. Just the three of us.” She throws a quizzical gaze at Steve, but he nods and walks around the bed, then he slips in beside her. Bucky carefully entangles himself from Y/N and lays back down on her other side. It takes him just a few strokes of Y/N’s hand through his hair until he is fast asleep. Steve lets out an exhausted breath. “Finally.”

“Hey Steve?”

“Yeah?” Steve has closed his eyes as well and snuggles up to her side, half asleep. “I think it’s time now. I can leave tomorrow and I can see you need it. Please drop. Bucky needs his little brother as much as he needs an adult to care for him.”

“But who is…”

“Tony offered to pick me up when he was here earlier. So, you go and drop now? I miss my little diaper wearing Stevie as well.” Steve chuckles and yawns, then nods. “Okay.” Barely three minutes later lies a fast asleep, blond, naked, three-year-old boy beside her. Y/N can’t help but plant a few kisses on each head of her boys until she falls asleep herself. She doesn’t hear the door as Tony walks in with a sigh of relive as he sees his two missing Avengers and Y/N fast asleep in her bed.


End file.
